I was a slacker

Luo Hua kept his eyes closed, feeling the world spin around him. A long time passed, yet the bone-piercing cold of plunging into icy water never came.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a familiar figure. "Yun He?"

He turned to look around and realized that, somehow, he was back beside the lake, sitting in his wheelchair. Everything seemed to have returned to how it had been before.

Smack!

A slap struck his face, leaving Luo Hua stunned. Only after a long moment did he slowly raise his head to look at Yun He, a bitter smile on his face and tears slipping from his eyes. "Yun He..."

Yun He let out a soft breath and stared at Luo Hua. "Your brother Luo Feng worked so hard for your sake, and this is how you repay him?"

"My brother?" Luo Hua froze.

"I can't be bothered to explain it to an idiot like you. Your brother will be back tomorrow. Ask him yourself. All I can tell you is that your legs aren't beyond treatment," Yun He said flatly.

"Y-Yun He, you... you mean..." At those words, Luo Hua, who had lost all hope, began trembling with excitement. He stared at Yun He in disbelief.

Yun He said no more. He would leave the explanation to Luo Feng. Many people nearby were watching now, pointing and talking about them.

Yun He lifted the wheelchair with both hands and quickly carried Luo Hua away.

The days passed, and another two months went by in the blink of an eye.

Early March.

Not long after the New Year celebrations, Luo Feng's squad headed out to the Wilderness Zone again.

Inside the Limit General Hall in Jiangnian Base City.

"Judging by these records, Luo Feng and Yun He are indeed quite talented. Luo Feng, in particular, works very hard. He killed over a hundred thousand beast soldier-level monsters in two months? That's quite mad. He really did fight his way to the strength of a junior war general." War God Yang Hui, the special envoy from Headquarters, studied the printed documents before him as he spoke.

"Iron Hand, have you made the arrangements with Wu Tong?" Yang Hui asked.

"Wu Tong is online right now. You can talk to him whenever you're ready," said Zhou Zhengyong with a smile. The president of the Jiangnan Limit General Hall was an intermediate war god known as Iron Hand.

Yang Hui nodded and quickly switched on the Three-Dimensional Virtual Projection Device.

A hazy light swiftly formed a three-dimensional projection in the Viewing Room. Wu Tong, the director of Yangzhou City's Limit Hall, appeared in the room as though he were standing there in person. The only difference was the faint halo shimmering over the surface of his body.

"Greetings, President, Special Envoy." Wu Tong bowed slightly.

"Mm."

War God Yang Hui nodded. "I'm sure you already know why I wanted to speak with you. You're in charge of the Limit Hall in Yangzhou City, and Luo Feng and Yun He both live in the Mingyue Residential Area. You should know them quite well, correct?"

"Yes." Wu Tong nodded.

"First, tell me about Luo Feng's physical fitness and his current strength." Clearly, War God Yang Hui considered Luo Feng far more important than Yun He.

"Yes."

A faint, proud smile appeared on Wu Tong's face. "Luo Feng is one of the finest talents Yangzhou City has seen in nearly a decade. He only just turned nineteen after the New Year. He's been a warrior for a little over six months. His current physical stats are: punching strength, around 10,000 kilograms; speed, 129 meters per second; nerve reaction speed, tested a month and a half ago at intermediate war general level, passing grade."

"Also, as far as I know, Luo Feng practices the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, and he had already reached the third layer by the New Year. In other words, he mastered the third layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade in just over six months!" Wu Tong's voice was filled with admiration.

There were powerful warriors all over the world, and wealthy ones too. Countless warriors practiced the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, yet many could not even master its basics.

Luo Feng was simply a freak of nature. His talent was absurd.

Wu Tong shook his head in admiration, then bowed slightly. "Those are the important details I know about Luo Feng."

"The third layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade?" War God Yang Hui, who had remained calm and composed until now, suddenly looked startled.

"Are you certain?" Yang Hui pressed.

"I'm certain. I was there when Luo Feng took the test and saw it with my own eyes." Wu Tong nodded firmly.

War God Yang Hui and President Zhou Zhengyong exchanged a glance.

"I'm afraid the decision from above will have to change," Zhou Zhengyong said with a smile.

"Where is Luo Feng now? I want to meet him in person!" Yang Hui asked Wu Tong.

Wu Tong answered, "Luo Feng and his warrior squad left for the Wilderness Zone on March first."

"March first?" Yang Hui and Zhou Zhengyong exchanged another glance and laughed.

Yang Hui pointed at Zhou Zhengyong and chided him with a grin. "This is all because you insisted on dragging me to that..."

He did not dare finish with Wu Tong still present.

Zhou Zhengyong hurriedly changed the subject, asking Wu Tong, "What about Yun He? Tell us about him too."

"Uh..."

Wu Tong frowned, seemingly unsure what to say.

"What's wrong? Is there something you can't tell us?" Yang Hui casually picked up Yun He's file. Compared with Luo Feng's, Yun He's records looked far more ordinary.

Advanced warrior.

He had slaughtered beast soldier-level monsters relentlessly for a month, with a conservative estimate putting the total at several tens of thousands.

Judging by that, his strength was also at the junior war general level.

However, he was a little older: twenty-one.

His performance was nothing special. To be honest, Yang Hui had never intended to pay much attention to Yun He. He was merely asking as a matter of routine.

Wu Tong thought it over carefully and realized that he really did not have much information on Yun He. After all, Yun He was far too... cautious? He hid at home every day and rarely visited the Wilderness Zone. Apart from that sudden burst of strength two months ago, when he saved Luo Feng's younger brother, there was little to go on. According to the onlookers, he had moved very fast then, breaking the sound barrier. That should put him at junior war general strength, right?

"To be honest, I don't know much about Yun He. He mostly stays at home and rarely goes out. As far as I know, he's only visited the Wilderness Zone twice, for about a month each time. Otherwise, he spends nearly all his time at home. My information on him is limited." Wu Tong shook his head and told the truth.

Yang Hui waved a hand indifferently. "Then leave it at that. Just submit an accurate report based on the information we have."

Luo Feng secured a chance to take the entrance assessment for the Elite Training Camp in Hongning Base City, at the Limit Martial Hall's Headquarters. He successfully passed the B-Rank Test and entered the War God Preparatory Camp.

He made a special call to Yun He to share the good news and asked him to look after his family.

Yun He continued quietly keeping to his training routine in the Mingyue Residential Area. Naturally, many residents compared him with Luo Feng.

Both were talented youths whom the Limit Martial Hall had signed ahead of time. Now, a little over six months later, one had rapidly become a junior war general and gone to Headquarters to join the War God Training Camp, with boundless prospects ahead. The other was still ranked as an advanced warrior and spent all day in the residential area, rarely even visiting the Wilderness Zone.

Many people could not help marveling at how vast the gap between two geniuses could be.

Yun He occasionally went out for a walk and heard this gossip, but he did not care in the slightest.

That's right.

I'm just a slacker.

Just pay attention to Luo Feng. Don't pay attention to me. All I want is to train quietly and keep a low profile.

Before the system appeared, Yun He had wanted to be a slacker. After it appeared, he had become a slacker through and through.

The thoroughly seasoned kind, with no intention of ever turning his life around.

After all, Luo Feng was out in front shouldering everything. Whether the issue was big or small, Yun He had no need to worry about it.

Why panic?

Just stay behind him, keep my head down, and grow stronger.

Yun He strolled leisurely through the residential area, humming a little tune. "I'm a fish with pickled greens, sour, lousy, and surplus to needs. I'm a chicken in yellow stew, yellow, stifled, and garbage too~"